Human Dignity Vs. National Dignity: The Khobragade Row

"There is nothing like a 'mistreatment of a maid' - it's a misnomer! Mrs. Khobragade was only doing what we all do all the time!"  
- The Indian Political Class

This is a response to the row about Devyani Khobragade, the Indian Diplomat stationed as deputy consul general in New York, USA.

As a summary of events:
A 1999-batch Indian Foreign Services officer, Ms. Khobragade was arrested on December 12 on visa fraud charges, and was released on a $250,000 bond only after pleading not guilty in court. Her diplomatic immunity was waived, she was handcuffed and strip searched. This is unusual treatment for a diplomat. The prosecutor, Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Wednesday night that the diplomat’s conduct showed that “she clearly tried to evade U.S. law designed to protect from exploitation the domestic employees of diplomats and consular officers.”

Ms. Sussman is the lawyer for the Indian woman Sangeeta Richard, who had been employed by Ms. Khobragade as a domestic help and babysitter. Ms. Sussman explains that the case is about the diplomat lying to the federal government about the wages she was required to pay to her client. Ms. Khobragade grossly underpaid the maid, required that she work far more than was expected, and wrongly represented this information the U.S. government.

The ill-treatment of the diplomat evoked a sharp reaction from India which initiated a slew of steps to downgrade the privileges enjoyed by the U.S. diplomats and their families including withdrawing airport passes and stopping import clearances. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Wednesday described as “deplorable” the way the diplomat was treated in the U.S. Indian Foreign minister Salman Khurshid demanded that the charges be dropped.

And thus, a case about a diplomat mistreating a domestic help brought to USA on fraudulent papers has become all about how the diplomat was lawfully treated when she was arrested and charged of such behavior. For the Indian political class: ruling party and opposition alike, the diplomat's single strip search and reported handcuffing is a huge concern requiring national uproar, while the original crime, the reason for the arrest of the diplomat - her mistreatment of the domestic help, making them work 70-80 hours a week, not paying the wages due to her by US laws, and the general mistreatment, is NOT an issue of concern. In fact thrice in the last three years now, Indian diplomats placed in NY have been found guilty of ill treatment of maids.

The actions of the political class roughly translated in parlance: "What? Are you seriously going to strip search a woman of education, status and class for mistreating a worthless maid? There is nothing like a "mistreatment" of a maid - it's a misnomer! Mrs. Khobragade was only doing what we all do all the time! How dare some other govt. punish us for behavior we don't even consider improper?"

There is a widespread culture of ill-treatment of domestic help in India. I am saying nothing new, anyone familiar with India knows this: Indians have not let go of the caste system completely. Rich folks: businessmen, diplomats and academics alike, do not mind paying low wages and uphold the sub-human treatment of domestic help. For a very common example, domestic help can be severely reprimanded if caught using the cutlery, cups or glasses not meant for them, a vestige from untouchability, and are expected to do almost any kind of work that the employer may demand, a vestige of caste based labor structure.

Many of these individuals of privileged class (most often also upper caste) actually think that by employing a domestic help they are benevolent saviors worthy of a medal! When one starts such discussions one often hears arguments such as "if she was not working here, she would be working on a construction site, carrying loads of brick. She has it much easier here," white-washing the reality that these lazy rich people would have to spend many hours cleaning and scrubbing (something they hate to do) and would cost them a lot of money in work hours.

But this economics is trivial to people who are accustomed to generations of discrimination, even the nicer ones. No wonder when their deluded realities come in contact with another culture, such as American, which value human equality differently, clashes are bound to happen. When reacting to protect one of their kin, these idiots cannot even see that they are aggrandizing their idiocy in international media by issuing statements promoting more discrimination, against homosexual individuals this time.

Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said on national media: "My suggestion to the Government of India [...] we have issued visas to a number of US diplomats' companions. 'Companions' means that they are of the same sex. Now, after the Supreme Court ruling, it [homosexuality] is completely illegal in our country. Just as paying less wages was illegal in the US. So, why doesn't the government of India go ahead and arrest all of them? Put them behind bars, prosecute them in this country and punish them."

What a shame!

Sources:

The Hindu

NDTV

New York Times